Japanese Literary Awards

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Takahiro Ueda

うえだ たかひろ

Ueda Takahiro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1979-02-26 （Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
2013-
Affiliations
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (member, since 2023)
Memberships
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan
Influenced By
Haruki Murakami, Gabriel García Márquez, Kurt Vonnegut
Nominations
27th Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (Taiyo), 152nd Akutagawa Prize nominee (Wakusei), 154th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Friends of a Foreign Land), 38th Noma Literary New Face Prize nominee (Friends of a Foreign Land), 39th Noma Literary New Face Prize nominee (Tower and Gravity), 40th Oda Sakunosuke Prize nominee (Saiai no)

Education

Waseda University, Faculty of Law
Faculty of Law / Department of Law
Degree: 学士（法学）
Country: Japan

Awards

Shincho Newcomer Prize
2013
Work: Taiyo ("Sun")
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: 受賞
Mishima Yukio Prize
2015
Work: My Lover
Organization: Mishima Yukio Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize (New Artist)
2018
Work: Tower and Gravity
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
2019
Work: Nimrod
Organization: Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award
2022
Work: Tabi no Nai (No Journey)
Organization: Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Shimase Love & Romance Literary Award
2024
Work: Saiai no (The Most Beloved)
Organization: Shimase Love & Romance Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sun & Planet

2014 Short fiction

Debut short story collection including "Taiyo" and "Wakusei"; demonstrates a style where reality and conceptual imagination intersect.

lonelinessimaginationreality vs. ideas

My Lover

2015 Novel

A novel on the theme of love that weaves conceptual ideas with lived emotion. Winner of the Mishima Yukio Prize.

loverelationshipsideas vs. reality
Adaptations
  • [Stage play] My Lover (stage adaptation) / 渡辺えり (2019)

Friends of a Foreign Land

2016 Fiction

A collection exploring foreignness and otherness, including pieces that were nominated for the Akutagawa Prize.

foreignnessothernessloneliness

Tower and Gravity

2017 Fiction

A work weaving multiple narratives with conceptual motifs; adapted for the stage as "Niku no Umi".

towergravityconceptual motifs
Adaptations
  • [Stage play] Niku no Umi (Sea of Flesh) / 渡辺えり (2018)

Nimrod

2019 Fiction

Winner of the Akutagawa Prize; contains stories that probe loneliness, loss, and the human interior.

lonelinesslossmemory

Q

2019 Novel

A novel serialized in Shincho and on Yahoo! JAPAN; notable for its contemporary style and structural experimentation.

timeidentitystructural experimentation

Tabi no Nai (No Journey)

2021 Short story collection

A collection of diverse short stories; includes the work that won the Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award.

travelabsencerelationships

Saiai no (The Most Beloved)

2023 Fiction

A novel centered on love and loss; winner of the Shimase Love & Romance Literary Award.

lovelossmemory

Bibliography

  • Sun & Planet
  • My Lover
  • Friends of a Foreign Land
  • Tower and Gravity
  • Nimrod
  • Q
  • Tabi no Nai
  • Lack of Gravity
  • Saiai no
  • K+ICO
  • Stories of Multi-headed Beasts
  • Things Unrelated

Adaptations

  • Niku no Umi (from Tower and Gravity)
  • My Lover (stage adaptation)
  • 2020 (stage play written by Takahiro Ueda)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
conceptual and symbolic prose"New Transcendence" (term used by Toshiki Matsuura)works that cross literary fiction and SF
Recurring Motifs
towersgravitylonelinesslovetimetechnology

Legacy

A prize-winning contemporary Japanese author noted for blending literary fiction and SF, with a strong emphasis on conceptual imagery. His works have been adapted for the stage and have gained broad critical attention.

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan

In Popular Culture

  • Stage adaptations and theatrical productions

Quotes

  • One feels a determination to take off from mundane reality and let the imagination fly up to lofty conceptual heights.
    Source: Asahi Shimbun (conversation between Toshiki Matsuura and Yukiko Konosu) (2016)

Trivia

  • Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Law
  • Participated in founding a B2B solutions company and served as an executive
  • Debuted with "Taiyo", winning the Shincho Newcomer Prize (2013)
  • Selected for Granta Japan's "Best of Young Japanese Novelists 2016"
  • Joined the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan in 2023